Obama to outline U.S. climate goals at Copenhagen

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will commit the United States to a goal of substantial cuts in greenhouse gas pollution over the next decade when he travels to a widely anticipated climate conference in Copenhagen next month.

The president will take part in the conference Dec. 9 before heading to Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. The White House announcement Wednesday ended heavy speculation about whether Obama would attend the summit amid expectations that it likely will not produce a binding climate agreement.

The White House called Obama's decision "a sign of his continuing commitment and leadership to find a global solution to the global threat of climate change."

The president will lay out his goals for reducing the United States' carbon dioxide emissions by about 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020. That target reflects climate legislation still pending on Capitol Hill. A House-passed bill would slash heat-trapping pollution by 17 percent. A Senate bill seeks a 20 percent reduction, but that number is likely to come down to win the votes of moderate Democrats.

Obama's commitment to that goal would reverse long-standing U.S. opposition to mandatory emission cuts during eight years of the Bush administration.

The White House also said a half dozen Cabinet officials including Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke as well as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency — which is preparing regulations to cut greenhouse gases — will take part in the Copenhagen talks. It is the highest profile contingent of U.S. officials to ever take part in international climate negotiations.

The conference had originally been intended to produce a new global climate change treaty on limiting emissions of greenhouse gases that would replace the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. However, hopes for a legally binding agreement have dimmed, with leaders saying the summit is more likely to produce a template for future action to cut emissions blamed for global warming.

At least 75 world leaders will attend. Unlike Obama, most are expected to attend the final days of the Dec. 7-18 conference.

Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen, the host and chairman of the talks, said of Obama's decision to attend: "The visit underlines the president's desire to contribute to an ambitious, global agreement in Copenhagen."